Lighting opinions

[Wicked Color]

I have seen a lot of lights, and depending on what you want to see many differing opinions are out there, some like a blue look, and the fixture that person likes may not be for somebody who like a yellow, or pink look. The live stock you keep and tank size are also factors.
I like the blue look myself, and I really like T5s mixed with LED, I have owned a few different halide fixtures and none of them hold a candle to my ATI T5(thanks Grim!), but he brought it to me with a couple pink bulbs in it, they like the pink look, and that was totally different to me, I still use one to this day.
Since then I have added 2 36" reefbright strips, (one is all blue, one is 50/50) and the fixtures mounted all togeather like they were built to do so, and I love it.

Heat is the other issue I have to address, since I live in a house with no AC, I want to keep things as cool as possible, halides are straight out when it come to that, I was only able to run my JBJ29 nano HQI for a few hours a day, and that was pushing it. I also run extra fans and that keeps things pretty well in order.
LEDs do run cool, but do you really get a broad enough spectrum? From what I have seen they use 3-5 different wavelengths, and coral is very adaptive, but is it healthy? and does it allow the corals to color up all they can? I know you can see all the proteins better, but do they produce more?
What are your opinions, and experiences?

 

[KhensuRa]

This might end being a great thread. I was over at Gonzos picking up my fish awhile back. I was asking mine about certain acans and there coloring. Since I was there last he made quite a few changes to his lighting in the main show tank, with switching to all LED's. And I kept commenting on well everything looked, however Josh said several times that many of his corals looked better to him under the MH's then his LED units. I only have personal experience with PC lights and to me everything looks better. But I have done ton's of research on the different types of lighting and almost have to ask myself and others, are LED's more appealing do to over all cost? And are we settling due to this fact?

 

[ryan820]

Wicked, I use T5s only and like you I prefer the blue look, as well. I also live in a home with no AC (Honestly, we don't need it... the fish might, but the humans don't-- it gets hot how many times a year? And then cools into the 40's and 50's every night? A fan in the window does fine and at a fraction of the price). But it's those critical late afternoon hours where I fear my tanks temp will peak into the not-good territory. I'm just guessing-- it could be fine but those T5s can get pretty toasty. I will arm my tank with fans as well this summer.

In the meantime I've off-set my photo period until after those critical hours. I also live in a home where I can leave a fan in a window and get the hot air out pretty quickly.

I would love to switch to all LEDs but they intimidate the hell out of me (I have NO idea hot to put them together) and if I get them already made, I'd have to sell my 2 year old to some third-world country. She's really cute, so I bet i could get a mean light system... but still, not willing to do that, yet I kid.

My next set of bulbs will favor the blue range (mine now is still a bit too yellow for me). Though I have not yet decided how blue to go!

BTW-- all of my corals, under the actinics and they're all very blue bulbs, POP so well... my rics and zoas in particular look pretty crazy under those lights. They run longer than my daylights...

 

[dv3]

i love my LEDs ...BUT if i could get fixture that looked as sleek as my Led fixture does over my tank then i would probably go back to T5

 

[WrasseAttack]

I love t5s. I regret giving a friend my Tek 6 bulb setup I had over my 75 gallon tank. He still uses the same bulbs that are probably 4 years old now and his softies and zoas grow like mad. With some surface agitation you even get shimmer with t5s.

If I could afford $3000+ for a AI LED setup I would do it but I'm not yet sold on the look a lot of people get with shadows and spotlighting with some other setups. I really like the different lighting effects you can get with a AI system especially the thunderstorms. I hope somebody figures out a DIY solution similar to something they have with the Profilux wands and controller.

As far as color goes I like the 14k+ plus look. Some 20k bulbs are too much for me and I can't handle the full blue look a lot of people go for with LEDs. Just a personal preference. I read a thread a while back about the different colors and wavelenghts one might miss out with just LEDs and if I remember correctly some of the larger manufacturers were starting to add other color bulbs into the mix. Over my head.

I'm not a lighting expert so I just go with what I like visually.

 

[Dr.DiSilicate]

+1 on the t5's I have loved them over my 75 for the past few months. You can change out the bulbs one at a time and really play and customize the color of the tank. I love the shimmer effect and will add some led for that effect for al lot less than halide. Led's IMO will be the way to go as soon as they perfect the broad spectrum thing at a reasonable price and prove the longevity. For now my t5 combo is the best I have ever had.

 

[SAZAMA]

I run a 400w 20k mh and two t5 super actinic over a fifty gallon breeder, and I completely love it. but, I am gonna try a pink plus and super actinic next time though. I love the growth I get with my MH, and the color from my t5. I'll try and post a few pics of just t5s and MH and t5

 

[Wicked Color]

MH do color SPS up like no other, I believe this is due to the broad spectrum of wavelengths they give, this is why I question LEDs.

 

[projectx]

I have only been running T5's for the last 6 months, I like that you can tune the color and cover the spectrum how you see fit.
My corals are coloring up ok now that I have the bulbs up off the water more.

At one point I was at Keys and one of the guys had a home made spectrometer that used a piece of film to "read" what your lights were actually putting out. I have tried to find it on the WWW but no luck. Even talked to one of the guys there and he doesnt remember how he put it together. Something like that would help with LEDs as well as T5s.

I would like to go to LED at some point but cost being a factor and lack of knowledge, no matter how much research I do I come away more confused than when I started, I figure i have a few more months on my current bulbs before needing to replace them.

 

[KhensuRa]

Lets not forget about plasma. I would really like to see one of these set ups in person. Right now I think if I sold a kidney these bad boys would be out of my price range.

Here is a good thread on plasma light...
http://www.reefersanonymous.net/index.php?/topic/32-blastin-plasmas/

 

[Cake_Boss]

Just so you guys know, I wrote up a very long response and addressed all kinds of things. However, I clicked on the MASNA logo by accident and deleted it all when I pressed back. So in order to compensate, consider your IQ's raised by 5 points, and go on with your life.
:wall:

 

[Wicked Color]

http://www.reef2reef.com/forums/reef-discussion/63438-bye-bye-leds-hello-mh-2.html
This is my point exactly, they look better with the pigment they currently possess, but do not produce the desired florescent pigments under limited wavelengths.

 

[SAZAMA]

just checked out that thread yesterday. we could run a color up contest/results on a few diffferent lighting scemes. say a few leds, different mh, and t5s aswell. and I could even donate some green staghorn

 

[projectx]

That would be a good real world comparison, I would be willing to document and track progress